Shuangbaotai

Summary

Shuangbaotai (simplified Chinese: 双胞胎; traditional Chinese: 雙胞胎; pinyin: shuāngbāotāi) is a sweet fried dough food of Hokchew origin commonly found as a Taiwanese street food. It is a chewy fried dough containing large air pockets on the inside and a crisp crust on the outside. It is made by twisting two small pieces of dough together and frying them, causing them to separate slightly while remaining connected.[1]

Shuangbaotai
Fried shuangbaotai with sesame seeds
TypeDoughnut
Place of originFuzhou
Main ingredientsDough
  •   Media: Shuangbaotai
雙胞胎
Traditional Chinese雙胞胎
Simplified Chinese双胞胎
Literal meaningtwins
Minnan name
Traditional Chinese馬花糋
Simplified Chinese马花糋
Literal meaninghorse hoof cake

Names edit

The Mandarin Chinese name of this food, shuāngbāotāi (Chinese: 雙胞胎) meaning "twins", is derived from the fact that the dish is two pastries twisted slightly together as if conjoined twins. The Taiwanese Hokkien name is 馬花糋 (bé-hoe-chìⁿ), which roughly means "horse-hoof cake", also in reference to its shape. Another Hokkien name is 雙生仔 (siang-siⁿ-á) meaning twins.

Regional edit

In Taiwan, shuangbaotai are a type of snack (xiaochi) typically sold by hawkers at street stalls or in night markets, but not in regular restaurants or bakeries.

See also edit

Other Chinese fried dough dishes edit

References edit

  1. ^ "【記憶裡的古早味】雙胞胎、甜甜圈、麻花捲,中式點心的八里夢工廠 - 文化銀行|BANK OF CULTURE". 文化銀行|BANK OF CULTURE (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 2018-03-30. Retrieved 2019-11-15.

External links edit

  • YTower — A famous maker of shuangbaotai (in Chinese)
  • Shuangbaotai Archived 2011-07-27 at the Wayback Machine at Chiayi Tourism Bureau website — includes photos of shuangabotai (in Chinese)